Frieren: Beyond Journey's End has a bit of a reputation with fans of melancholic, bittersweet anime. But how sad is Frieren, really?
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Just How Sad Is Frieren?
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is a bittersweet anime that features sword and sorcery fantasy from a Japanese perspective. It also explores grief, loss, and memory.
Some of the story's saddest elements actually happen in the very first episodes, so they aren't real spoilers.
If you go into the anime without knowing anything about it, you might find it surprisingly sad.
But if you already know the main plot or have read the Frieren manga, there won't be much more tragedy to shock you.
Frieren's Melancholic Journey
Despite its bittersweet package, Frieren isn't as sad as newcomers might think. However, it is still a story that deconstructs more cheerful sword and sorcery tales.
Frieren starts where most stories end, with the defeat of the big bad. As an immortal elf, Frieren is unable to fully grasp the meaning of the decade she spent with her companions.
The first few episodes are dedicated to the tragedy of Frieren appreciating her friends and past experiences too late when Himmel is already dead and Heiter is close to death.
Himmel's death, in particular, badly shakes Frieren, who realizes that she didn't know him all that well.
While we viewers haven't lived as long as Frieren, the experience of appreciating what you have when it's too late is a universal one.
Frieren's condition exaggerates this, with the heroine being over one thousand years old, but failing to fully experience what we love until it is gone is a tragedy of human nature, too.
Since the titular character embarks on a journey to better understand humanity, even taking a human girl as an apprentice, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End doesn't feature just tragedy but also hope.
Some of the episodes past the first four or so are actually pretty standard, fun high fantasy with entertaining adventures, although the quality remains higher than most, and more emotional.
What Are Some Sad Anime Like Frieren?
Frieren has often been compared to anime like To Your Eternity and Violet Evergarden.
In the former, an immortal entity comes into the world to experience life as many different organisms, losing many loved ones as he acquires more and more feelings.
In the latter, a child soldier learns how to live in human society as a ghostwriter on a quest for the meaning of love.
Frieren is probably not as dramatic or tragic as either of these, although the mellow pace and deep feelings paired with the exploration of loss will make the anime enjoyable to fans of Violet Evergarden and To Your Eternity.
At the same time, Frieren Beyond Journey's End has a bit of the whimsy of The Ancient Magus' Bride and other fantasy works with magical elements.
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